After the Explosions
by suzie2b
Summary: Tully didn't know it was there until it was too late.


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **After the Explosions**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **It was turning into a long day for the men of the Rat Patrol. They had followed a German convoy to the half-built base that an American spotter plane had reported and was able to destroy or disable the majority of the unfinished complex before fortifications could be completed. This, however, had angered the Germans … a lot. The highest ranking officer left alive ordered some of what was left of the company of soldiers and motor pool to go after the two jeeps that had done the damage.**

 **They soon set out, following the tracks left by the American jeeps.**

 **#########################**

 **Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully were taking a much needed break at a waterhole when Tully sent up the alarm that three German halftracks were coming their way.**

 **Moffitt smiled. "Do you think they're upset that we blew up their installation before it was finished?"**

 **Troy grinned as he said, "I didn't think they'd be so quick to come after us." He stood up and headed for the jeeps. "Okay, let's shake it!"**

 **The Germans saw the jeeps speed out of the waterhole and gave chase. When it appeared that the halftracks were not going to give up, Troy gave the order to engage.**

 **As Hitch and Tully drove circles around the less maneuverable German vehicles, Troy and Moffitt did whatever damage they could with the 50 caliber machine guns.**

 **One of the halftracks was quickly disabled when the heavy slugs ripped into the engine. The other two halftracks followed the jeeps as they split off in different directions.**

 **Tully wasn't about to give the Germans an easy target as he kept the jeep weaving left and right. Then, all of a sudden, the halftrack exploded. Surprised, Moffitt was wondering what the heck had happened when another explosion lifted the jeep into the air, flipping it onto its side.**

 **Moffitt was thrown out of the back of the jeep and landed hard on the sand. He shook his head as he slowly got to his knees and looked around. He saw the destroyed German halftrack and took note that there was no movement from the men who'd been in it. Then Moffitt looked around again, trying to find Tully. He quickly got to his feet, swaying as a wave of dizziness hit him, and felt the large bump on the side of his head. After the dizziness passed, he moved to the smoldering, overturned jeep and found Tully lying nearby. Moffitt carefully rolled him onto his back to access the damage.**

 **Tully wasn't in good shape. Shrapnel had torn into his left thigh and side. The boot on his right foot had been shredded, leaving his foot a bloody mess. As Moffitt unbuckled Tully's helmet and removed it, he was silently grateful that the private had been wearing it. He gently pulled the goggles off and noticed only a couple of minor cuts on Tully's face.**

 **Tully groaned as he started to come around. He opened his eyes and looked up at the sergeant and managed to whisper, "Land mines."**

 **Moffitt realized that he hadn't realized what had caused the two explosions. "Land mines?"**

 **Tully grimaced as pain started to let itself be known. He gasped out, "I drove us … into a dang … mine field."**

 **Moffitt could hear the other jeep coming and scrambled up onto their jeep to flag Hitch down as he yelled, "Stop! Stop!"**

 **Hitch quickly came to a halt. Troy was standing in the back and called out, "What's going on, Moffitt?"**

" **It's a mine field!" Moffitt climbed down and grabbed one of the machine guns that had been thrown from its holster to prove his point. He fired a succession of bursts from the weapon into the sand until the bullets found their target. There was an explosion that sent up a cloud of dust and sand.**

 **Troy frowned. "Where's Tully?"**

 **Moffitt said, "He's badly injured!"**

" **Okay, do what you can for him! We'll see about clearing a path to you!"**

 **Moffitt gave a wave of acknowledgement and went back to Tully, who was again unconscious. He located their med kit among the things that had been thrown out of the jeep. Moffitt cut open Tully's pant leg and examined the wounds. They were bleeding badly, but it didn't appear that the artery had been hit. He fastened a tourniquet around Tully's thigh above the wounds and moved on to his side. After unbuttoning his shirt, Moffitt found that the wounds there were minor in comparison, but still messy. Then he crawled down to examine Tully's foot.**

 **As Moffitt worked to remove the remains of Tully's boot, he heard the 50 caliber and the explosions as the bullets hit one mine after another. It wasn't long before Troy and Hitch were at Moffitt and Tully's side with a second med kit.**

 **Troy looked at Tully and said quietly, "Hitch, you help Moffitt. I'll keep watch."**

 **As he walked away, Moffitt said to Hitch, "Check his leg. If the bleeding has stopped, start removing whatever shrapnel you can. Make sure you clean each wound."**

 **Troy walked around the jeep and looked at the damage. The mine had apparently gone off under the front wheel on the driver's side. Most of the rubber was gone or shredded and what was left of the rim was mangled. There was a gaping hole in the bottom of the jeep, right where Tully's legs would've been as he drove, and the gas and brake pedals were missing. It was miracle the gas tank hadn't exploded. Basically, the engine compartment had been torn apart. Troy sighed and turned to stare out into the desert.**

 **Hitch was carefully removing shrapnel from Tully's thigh when he heard a groan and glanced up at his friend's pale face. "How's it going, Tully?"**

 **He gritted his teeth. "It's goin'. Where's Moffitt?"**

 **The sergeant was still working on the private's foot. "I'm here, Tully."**

 **He asked, "You okay?"**

 **Moffitt managed a slight smile. "A slight headache, but otherwise I'm fine."**

" **My foot hurts."**

" **I imagine it does."**

 **Tully closed his eyes against the growing pain which overshadowed that in his leg and side. "How bad?"**

 **Moffitt simply said, "Well, you've still got all your toes."**

" **Sarge…"**

" **Yes, Tully?"**

 **He laid one arm across his eyes and dug his over hand into the sand as he asked, "Can I have some morphine?"**

 **Moffitt and Hitch looked at each other, knowing what it took for Tully to ask for the drug. Moffitt nodded at Hitch and said, "Of course. Hitch will give you a shot."**

 **#########################**

 **Once Tully was ready to be moved, Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch loaded what they could salvage into their remaining jeep and made the wounded private as comfortable as possible. Hitch drove until they found a sheltered area to spend the night in.**

 **After giving Tully another shot of morphine, Moffitt sat down by the fire and said, "He's got a fever."**

 **Troy looked at the private where he lay in a drugged sleep nearby. "Are you thinking infection's setting in despite the sulfa?"**

 **Moffitt nodded. "I'm afraid so. Other than his damaged foot, there are some shards of shrapnel still imbedded in his leg and side. The sooner we get him to a doctor the better."**

 **Troy let out a sigh. "There's no field hospitals between here and base. It's going to take close to twenty hours to get there with four of us in the one jeep."**

" **We could leave the nonessentials behind. Lighten things up a bit."**

" **Yeah. We can bury the stuff here and come back for it later." Troy looked at his friend's tired face. "Why don't you get some rest? I'll relieve Hitch on watch in a while."**

 **Before the sun was up Troy and Hitch were going through their supplies while Moffitt was on watch and keeping an eye on Tully. They would keep all the water, med kits, a few K-rations, and blankets. All magazines were loaded. The rest of their ammo would be buried with the hope they wouldn't run into any German patrols. One of the two extra fuel cans was to be buried as well, leaving a full gas tank and a half can to spare. When they were finished Troy carefully marked the spot on his map.**

 **As they prepared to move Tully into the jeep, Moffitt said, "If we keep him sedated, we'd be able to move faster without causing him undue pain."**

 **Troy remembered a time he had done just that for Tully on another occasion where he'd been injured during a mission. He nodded. "Good idea."**

 **They only stopped when it was necessary to give Tully another sedative and to let the jeep cool down a bit. They'd been lucky so far. They had only seen one German patrol and they'd been able to get around it without being spotted.**

 **At one point Moffitt checked Tully's wounds during a stop and applied more of the sulfa powder. Hitch was topping off the gas tank and asked, "How's he doing?"**

 **Moffitt replied, "As well as can be expected. Things don't seem to be getting any worse, but they certainly aren't getting any better."**

 **Troy said, "At the rate we're moving, I figure we'll make it to Ras Tanura in another four hours."**

 **After one final stop, the jeep rolled up in front of the base hospital. Hitch ran inside and came back with a stretcher and two corpsmen.**

 **Once Tully was inside with a doctor, Troy said, "I'll go get Charley."**

 **When she opened the apartment door Charley smiled. "Hi, Sam." Then she looked down the hall. "Where's Tully?"**

 **#########################**

 **Tully made it through surgery. All wounds were thoroughly cleaned and those that needed it were stitched up. The broken bones in his foot were set. Tully was lucky to keep his foot. Thanks to the sulfa powder, the infection was slight and would easily be taken care of with penicillin.**

 **When Tully awoke some hours after surgery the first person he saw was Charley. She was sitting cross-legged on a chair next to him, reading aloud from the book they had started before this last mission. Tully remembered her voice as it filtered through his drugged hazed mind before he was able to wake up. "Hi."**

 **Charley looked up and smiled. "Hi yourself." She put her hand on his forehead, noting the fever was slowly abating, and brushed his hair back. "How're you feeling?"**

 **Tully took her hand and kissed her palm. "Groggy. Feel a little numb all over."**

 **Charley bent down and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Feel that?"**

 **Tully smiled dopily. "Not sure. Try again." She did and he said, "Yeah, I can feel that."**

 **Charley giggled softly. "Good. The doctors used procaine on your foot to numb it for a while."**

" **What about the rest of me?"**

" **That's just the lingering effects of the anesthetic they used during surgery. You were in there quite a while." Charley could see that he was struggling to stay awake. "Close your eyes and sleep, love. I'll be here when you wake up."**

 **Tully held her hand as he let his eyes slide shut. Then he heard her as she began to read again. Her soft voice lulling him into a relaxed sleep.**


End file.
